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FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 12

by | Nov 26, 2024 | FTC, Newsletter

Last weeks coaches chat posted on the firstwa website 

Last weeks coaches chat has been posted here on the firstwa.org Webinars page.  The focus was on the upcoming Interleague events and what to expect.  If you missed the coaches chat, make sure to look through the slides and watch the recording so you can be prepared for your Interleague Championship event. 

 

Dean’s List Nominations are Due December 15th 

We will once again be having remote Dean’s List Interviews in January (More info on the Interview window will be sent to coaches after nominations close in December)

Lead and Alternate Coaches can nominate their students from their firstinspires dashboard until December 15th.

Don’t wait until the last minute, get your nominations in today.

Nomination Guide

Volunteer with FTC or FLL!

We have 27 FTC and FLL Challenge events in December alone, and we need over 1,400 volunteers to run them! Please organize your team to register today! Volunteering at FLL and FTC events is NUMBER ONE way your team can support FIRST growth in your community, and you’ll have a blast doing it! 

For coaches and mentors, Judging (at events your team is NOT competing at) is a great way to learn about the judging process.

And for FTC students, volunteering in any role is a great way to work towards any service hour requirements for graduation.

If there is an FLL or FTC event in your school district and your team isn’t already supporting it, please consider mobilizing your team to help out! We understand this time of year is busy, but many of our FLL and FTC hosts depend on FRC teams to help fulfill volunteer roles.

You can always reach out to us if you want more guidence about how to help out. Email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org.

Volunteer Roles Needed: (both programs)

  • Referees
  • Judges
  • Queuers
  • Field Resetters
  • Scorekeepers
How to Register
There are no upcoming events at this time.
There are no upcoming events at this time.

Important Dates & Deadlines

FRC Reefscape Blog: Volume 10

by | Nov 26, 2024 | FRC, Newsletter

Invoices Went Out Today!

Thank you for your patience, between the delay in getting the info we needed from FIRST and the weather last week, invoices went out much later than planned.   

Invoices were sent to the person that was designated on the PNW FRC registration form and include grants from your firstinspires dashboard as well as FIRST Washington or Ortop (where applicable) 

***New this year, MySite fees will be included on the invoice this year so if your team chose MySite for kickoff, expect to see that added to your invoice. 

Because invoices went out later than expected, we changed the secured date to December 10 to give you two weeks to secure it.  Remember, you can secure your invoice with a PO or pay by check or Credit Card.  Because of how winter break falls this year, it is critical that you secure your registration before you go on break or you may not receive your kickoff kit. 

If you have questions about your invoice or did not receive it please email me directly.  Include your team number in your email 

 

The November Coaches Chat was moved to Thursday, December  5 at 7:00 pm

Our next coaches chat is scheduled for Thursday, December 5th at 7:00 pm.  Coaches chats are an opportunity for use to share important information with all of you as well as help you connect with other coaches.  We recommend each team have one coach attend.  Click here for meeting link  

 

Volunteer with FTC or FLL!

We have 27 FTC and FLL Challenge events in December alone, and we need over 1,400 volunteers to run them! Please organize your team to register today! Volunteering at FLL and FTC events is NUMBER ONE way your team can support FIRST growth in your community, and you’ll have a blast doing it! 

For coaches and mentors, Judging or Refereeing is a great local team netoworking opportunity. And for FRC Students, volunteering in any role is a great way to work towards any service hour requirements for graduation.

If there is an FLL or FTC event in your school district and your team isn’t already supporting it, please consider mobilizing your team to help out! We understand this time of year is busy, but many of our FLL and FTC hosts depend on FRC teams to help fulfill volunteer roles. 

You can always reach out to us if you want more guidence about how to help out. Email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org.

Volunteer Roles Needed: (both programs)

  • Referees
  • Judges
  • Queuers
  • Field Resetters
  • Scorekeepers
How to Register
There are no upcoming events at this time.
There are no upcoming events at this time.

Important Dates

  • December 6:  FRC Coaches Chat 
  • December 10:  FRC Invoices secured 
  • December 14:  Bunnybots Oregon & Washington 
  • December 19:  FRC Coaches Chat This will be cancelled since the Nov coaches chat was pushed into December 
  • January 4:  FRC Kickoff!! (Remember, FIRST Washington registration must be secured to pick up your kit!) 

FLL Submerged Blog: Volume 13

by | Nov 21, 2024 | FLL, FLL Challenge, FLL Explore

In this weeks Blog-

Challenge-

Waitlist Closed

Payment deadline passed

Name Changes

Are you event ready?

 

Explore- 

Invoices going out weekly 

Event registration live

Event assignments for paid teams!  

 

Make sure you read the entire blog!

Season Info

Waitlist Update!

All teams but 1 have been moved off the waitlist. I have emailed the last team to offer available spots.

The Waitlist is closed for the season!

Thanks for everyones patience !

 

Payment Deadline!

All teams planning to participate in the FLL Challange SUBMERGED season Qualifier events should be paid. The payment deadline was 11/15.

 

Are you Event Ready?

If you want to check the status of your team-

Green– All set, Event Ready!

Yellow- Unpaid Invoice, not event ready.

Red– No FIRST Washington registration, no paid invoice, not event ready.

Challenge Event Ready Status
Challenge Assignments

-We are a very small staff, and most, if not all, things are done manually. It takes some time for you to pay, accounting to process it, and them to tell me. I get updates once a day, so if you have paid and don’t see your team listed PLEASE DON’T EMAIL ACCOUNTING. You just slow the process down 🙂

480+ invoices have gone out- if you have filled out the FIRST Washington registration one was most likely send to you! Check your spam/junk folder and look for an email from “Aplos”

Name Changes!

For both FLL Challenge and FLL Explore–

If your name is incorrect on the reports I have posted:

  • Challenge Assignments
  • Explore Team Status and Assignments

Please fill out this form letting me know the change. All FLL Challenge Changes, and FLL Explore Changes for December events must be completed by Monday 11/25. I will not be accepting changes after 11/25. 

FLL Challenge and Explore Name Changes

Explore

Event Registration!

 

If you are interested in attending an FLL Explore event-

You have to have-

  • Registered and paid FIRST Inspires
  • Registered with FIRST Washington
  • Paid your teams $50 FIRST Washington invoice.
  • Filled out the event registration form

After all of those things have been completed, you will be confirmed in one of your 2 event choices.

Explore Event Registration

Check this list to see your status-

Explore Team Status and Assignments

FLL Explore Events!

 

December:

  • Bellevue- December 15th
  • Snohomish- December 7th
  • Spokane- December 7th

    March:

    • Snohomish- March 1st
    • Yakima- March 15th
    • Sammamish- March 8th
    • Bonney Lake- March 15th

    Useful Contacts-

    Program Manager- Jacqueline Grimm jacqueg@firstwa.org

    Coach Advisor- Heather Bioren- heatherb@firstwa.org

    FLL Head Referee- Kevin Torrico- fllheadreferee@firstwa.org 

    Accounting- accounting@firstwa.org

     

     

    More From FLL

    FLL Blog Volume 21

    FLL Blog Volume 21

    May 21, 2024

    Congratulations to our two World Festival Challenge teams!The Brickeneers and Intelligent...

    read more
    FLL Blog Volume 20

    FLL Blog Volume 20

    Feb 20, 2024

    Important! For Public and Tribal Compact Schools with FLL Challenge Teams! You should have...

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    Inclement Weather Alert: 11/21/24 Cyclone Bomb

    by | Nov 21, 2024 | FTC

    In response to the Bomb Cyclone weather event that impacted much of western Washington on Wednesday, November 20th, we are currently gathering information about FTC League event venues that may be struggling to regain electricity.

    This situation could impact whether certain league events in western Washington can proceed as scheduled for the weekend of November 23rd and 24th. 

    We aim to inform participating teams as soon as possible regarding the status of their league events. You can track your event status via the report below. 

    *If you are using a mobile phone, please view in landscape mode for better readability.

    PLEASE NOTE: Events outside western Washington or the Bomb Cyclone-affected region should be assumed to proceed as scheduled unless otherwise notified.

    The safety of our teams and volunteers is our top priority at FIRST Washington. Given the geographic diversity of our region and the variability of weather conditions, we trust our event hosts to make informed decisions about whether to proceed with an event, in alignment with their school district’s policies. 

    Coaches are encouraged to assess weather conditions in their area, prioritize the safety of their participants, and follow their school district’s policies (if applicable) when deciding whether to attend a scheduled event. 

    Please note that we cannot guarantee a make-up event if an event is cancelled due to inclement weather. Additionally, if a team chooses not to attend their scheduled event, no alternative event will be offered. 

    Here is what we have done to make communication as easy as possible: 

    1. We have added an Inclement Weather report so you can quickly check the status of your event. 
    2. FIRST Washington will email all assigned teams about any event changes as soon as we are made aware. 
    3. FIRST Washington will also email all assigned volunteers about any event changes as soon as we are made aware.

    We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we navigate these weather challenges. Thank you for prioritizing safety and making it a top priority for all participants, volunteers, and staff.  

    November Coches Chat

    If you missed our coaches chat, you can access the recording and slides here! 

    Recording and Slides

    FTC Into the Deep Blog: Volume 11

    by | Nov 15, 2024 | FTC, Newsletter

    Next FTC Coaches Chat is Tuesday, November 19 at 7:00 pm 

    Our next coaches chat is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15 at 7:00 pm.  Coaches chats are an opportunity for use to share important information with all of you as well as help you connect with other coaches.  We recommend each team have one coach attend.  Click here for meeting link.

    We will be focusing on the Interleague events during this meeting.

    Dean’s List Nominations are Due December 15th 

    We will once again be having remote Dean’s List Interviews in January (More info on the Interview window will be sent to coaches after nominations close in December)

    Lead and Alternate Coaches can nominate their students from their firstinspires dashboard until December 15th.

    Don’t wait until the last minute, get your nominations in today.

    Nomination Guide

    Event Results

    Since all leagues have now had their first event, I wanted to point out where to go to see event results and rankings.  You can find them here:  https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/#allevents 

    Go to the week your event was held and select your league for results. 

    Volunteer with FTC or FLL!

    We have 27 FTC and FLL Challenge events in December alone, and we need over 1,400 volunteers to run them! Please organize your team to register today! Volunteering at FLL and FTC events is NUMBER ONE way your team can support FIRST growth in your community, and you’ll have a blast doing it! 

    For coaches and mentors, Judging (at events your team is NOT competing at) is a great way to learn about the judging process.

    And for FTC students, volunteering in any role is a great way to work towards any service hour requirements for graduation.

    If there is an FLL or FTC event in your school district and your team isn’t already supporting it, please consider mobilizing your team to help out! We understand this time of year is busy, but many of our FLL and FTC hosts depend on FRC teams to help fulfill volunteer roles.

    You can always reach out to us if you want more guidence about how to help out. Email Mara Kealey at marak@firstwa.org.

    Volunteer Roles Needed: (both programs)

    • Referees
    • Judges
    • Queuers
    • Field Resetters
    • Scorekeepers
    How to Register
    There are no upcoming events at this time.
    There are no upcoming events at this time.

    Important Dates & Deadlines